


i won't be left behind

by Mayarene Rose (Paradise_of_Mary_Jane)



Series: Whumptober 2019 [28]
Category: DCU, Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-04 10:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21195926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paradise_of_Mary_Jane/pseuds/Mayarene%20Rose
Summary: Jason’s starting to think maybe he’s a little bit stupid. You’d have to be, to keep picking fights you can’t win. Jason was smarter when he was a kid. He knew when to fucking run. Now that he’s Robin, he stands his ground and calls the guys with guns idiots to their faces, because Robin doesn’t run away. He doesn’t know whoever started spreading the rumor that Robin was bulletproof. He bought into it, too, when he was younger.See, really fucking stupid.





	i won't be left behind

**Author's Note:**

> Day 29: Numb
> 
> Somehow, this is my first Titans fic. Can you even imagine?

Bruce has been leaving Jason a lot recently and that’s cool. 

Jason’s cool with that. 

Bruce is a busy guy and it’s not like Jason doesn’t know how to take care of himself. He’s good. It’s not like he’s leaving Jason hanging or anything. He has food. He has clothes. He probably has access to the best superhero tech in the world. Jason’s _fine._

Bruce also told him to stay in when Batman wasn’t around to help, for whatever reason. But well…

Batman isn’t here, so…

It’s just a patrol. No biggy. It’s not like it was a big deal. Jason’s gone on solo patrols before. He knows what to do. He’s not _stupid._

(Well, that’s what he said to Dick anyway.)

Jason’s starting to think maybe he’s a little bit stupid. You’d have to be, to keep picking fights you can’t win. Jason was smarter when he was a kid. He knew when to fucking run. Now that he’s Robin, he stands his ground and calls the guys with guns idiots to their faces, because Robin doesn’t run away. He doesn’t know whoever started spreading the rumor that Robin was bulletproof. He bought into it, too, when he was younger.

See, really fucking stupid.

Doesn’t matter how high tech your suit is, bullets find a way of breaking through.

And getting shot in the thigh? Not fun. Very not fun.

He doesn’t know how Dick finds him, since he was down on some filthy Gotham back alley and last he heard the guy was way back in San Francisco, but he’s not gonna deny the intense wave of relief that washes over him. Not that he’ll ever tell the asshole that. Especially with the way Dick’s looking at him, annoyed and worried at the same time. Guy seems to have perfected it. Probably practices it in front of a mirror everyday.

“Jason,” he says. 

“No names in the field,” Jason manages to spit out, just to be a little shit.

“You’re an idiot,” Dick tells him, and yeah. Jason’s currently lying next to a dumpster with a bullet in his leg. He’s not gonna agree, but he ain’t gonna argue, either.

\--

Jason turns numb fast. Must be the blood loss. In a move that catches Jason off-guard, Dick doesn’t bring him back to the manor. Instead, the guy takes him back to a non-descript apartment, near the border of Gotham and Bludhaven.

The walls are bare but Dick clearly owns it, judging from the gear just scattered on the floor.

“Dick what the fuck,” Jason says. Dick deposits him on a lumpy looking couch. Jason grunts in pain. Dick peels away the uniform and begins to dig through it, looking for the bullet.

“What?” Dick asks. He sounds distracted. Jason hopes it’s because he’s too focused on getting the bullet out of Jason’s leg.

“What is this place?” Jason asks.

“Oh,” Dick says. “It’s my apartment.”

“You have an _apartment in Gotham?”_ This is news to Jason, and considering he spent literal hours if not days researching every bit of information he could find on Dick Grayson, no matter how small, is more than a little off-putting.

“Of course I have an apartment in Gotham,” Dick says. “You know how Bruce is. You try to run away, strike out on your own, he still expects you to stay. Buys you an entire apartment complex to “support” your decision.”

“Oh,” Jason says. “Of course.” The worst part is he can actually see Bruce doing it. It’s very much a thing he’d do. “Surprised you use it, though.”

Dick shrugs. Jason feels so cold all over. He thinks he’s gonna pass out soon. He’s surprisingly okay with that.

Jason really was a lot smarter when he was a kid.

“Don’t hate Bruce as much as I did,” he says. “And I didn’t think you’d want to go back to the cave in this state.”

That is probably an accurate guess. Jason knows he’ll have to face Bruce eventually--bullet wounds are next to impossible to hide, even if you aren’t dealing with the world’s greatest detective--but he’s not about to do it just now.

It’s probably gonna end in a fight and Jason getting kicked back out into the streets because Bruce finally realized what a disaster of a person he actually took in. Jason’s too cold and his entire body feels too numb. He’s not really ready for that right now.

He thinks Dick might be telling him not to fall asleep yet but. Too late.

Jason’s already gone.

\--

Jason wakes to the sound of arguing. Well, Dick was arguing. Jason can pretty much guess who with.

He forces himself to stand up. His leg hurts like a bitch but. He still feels cold and there’s like this weird fog all over him, separating the world from his body. Everything feels kinda distant and not really there.

Huh. 

Must be the blood loss.

He steps out of the bedroom and into the living room to find Dick and… yup, sure enough, it was Bruce fucking Wayne, staring impassively as Dick tried to make him go away.

“Hey Dickhead,” Jason calls out. The two of them turn to him and it’s almost eerie how they blink at him, all identical looking. Surprise and concern, Jason thinks. He files the information away for later. He can only have so many breakdowns in the span of a few hours. 

“I don’t need you to defend my honor,” Jason says. “Big man wants to talk, we can talk.”

Dick looks like he wants to protest but in the end, he just shakes his head. 

“I’m going out for takeout,” he announces. Then, he turns to Jason. “At least sit down, you look like you’re gonna pass out.” And then he’s gone, just like that, and Jason is all alone with Bruce Wayne.

Jason does end up sitting down, but that’s more of an involuntary thing. His legs just won’t hold him up anymore. Luckily, there was a couch close by. Bruce guides him towards it.

“So,” Jason says, once the both of them are settled down. “Lay it on me.” He wanted it to come out cocky. He thinks it might have just been exhausted.

“You went on patrol,” Bruce says and Jason wants to hate the way he says it, unreadable. Like he has to hide from Jason because Jason can’t handle it. “Alone.”

“Yeah well,” Jason says. “I could handle it.”

Bruce raises an eyebrow and okay. Jason’s willing to concede that getting shot in the leg is in no way “able to handle it.”

“You should have told someone,” Bruce says. “It was dumb luck Dick found you when he did.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve always been lucky.”

“This isn’t a game, Jason.”

“Don’t I know it.” Jason lets out a bitter laugh. It’s the first emotion he’s felt since he got here. He thinks it’s never gonna stop making him mad, a billionaire trying to lecture a kid who lived on the streets about the harsh realities of the world. “Spare me the lecture, B. You weren’t there.”

“You can’t keep doing this,” is what Bruce says and all Jason hears is, “I can’t do this with you anymore.”

The fog thickens around him, making him tired and sleepy and not really there. Jason summons up all the anger he can because he never, ever, goes down without a fight.

“So what?” he demands. “What are you gonna do? Send me back with the Titans?”

Bruce spreads his hands. It’s a weird gesture he usually makes when he’s frustrated.

“What else do you expect me to do when you refuse to fall in line.”

“_You weren’t there,_” Jason says. “You’re _never _there so you don’t get to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do, you don’t get to throw me away to big brother every time I act out, you can’t tell me to fall in line, because you have _no idea _what’s going on with me.”

Robin sings to him. Robin is magic. Robin is his very own superpower, saving him from the demons, saving him from the nightmares. And Gotham is his blood. Gotham is drenched in his blood and all the kids like him who had to survive on their own, too young and too scared.

Robin is the hero that saves them from the villains. _Jason _is the person who finally makes things better for other people.

Robin is his.

“I’m not leaving Gotham,” Jason snarls. “And I’m not giving up Robin.”

Bruce stares at him. There’s an odd look in his eyes, like surprise or sadness or fondness. Jason doesn’t know what to do with it. He’s used up all his anger and now the numbness is back in full force.

“I’m not just some street kid,” Jason says quietly. “I’m not just another orphan you pick up. I’m _Robin. _You don’t just throw me away. You don’t just forget me.”

Bruce is quiet for a long time. Probably thinking of a way to just get rid of Jason then and there. He’s all bravado, but Jason knows who’s really in charge here. It’s not like he stands a chance against Bruce on anything.

Another fight he can’t win. Jason may be an idiot for charging straight towards it but he doesn’t know how to do anything else.

“I’m sorry,” Bruce says finally, words coming out awkward and stilted, and Jason’s heart jumps to his throat. “I’m sorry, for making you feel that. I’m never sending you away, Jason, you know that.”

Jason snorts. “You already did.”

Bruce shakes his head. “The Titans were good for Dick,” he says. “Being with heroes his own age. You were lonely and angry. I hoped it would be good for you as well.”

And that makes sense in Bruce’s logic, doesn’t it? Sometimes Jason really wants to punch the man. He has no idea how someone so smart can be so stupid.

“People aren’t puzzles, Bruce, Jesus.” Jason runs a hand through his face. “Just because it worked on Dick doesn’t mean it’s gonna work on me. We’re pretty different, if you haven’t noticed already.”

“I know,” Bruce says. “I’m sorry.”

That’s the thing. Bruce fucks up a lot and he’s always sorry, but nothing really changes. Bruce still won’t move an inch and neither will Jason. Something has to give eventually. They can’t go on like this.

“I’m tired, Bruce,” Jason says. “I’m so tired.”

“Then rest,” Bruce says softly. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

It’s not the answer Jason’s looking for, heck it’s not even what he asked, but well. It’s probably gonna be the best he’s gonna get. It’s okay. He’s good with making do. He’ll figure it out.

Jason will survive. He always does.

**Author's Note:**

> acediscowlng on tumblr :D


End file.
